Pronouns Changing Rules- Direct & Indirect Speech

Generally, “Personal Pronouns” are changed while converting the Direct Narration into Indirect Narration. These pronouns take their shape according to the pronouns used in the Reporting Speech of the Direct Narration.

Types of Personal Pronouns

The pronouns that are changed while converting Direct Narration into Indirect Narration, are called “Personal Pronouns”. Personal Pronouns are of 3 types:

Personal Pronouns of 1^st Person

              The pronouns that a person uses for themselves, are called the Personal Pronouns of the 1^st Person, e.g. I, We.

Personal Pronouns of 2^nd Person

               The pronouns that are used for a person with one talk, are called the Personal Pronouns of the 2^nd Person, e.g. You.

Personal Pronouns of 3^rd Person

                The pronouns that are used for a person who is not present at that time about whom something is said, are called the Personal Pronouns of the 3^rd Person, e.g. He, She, It, They, etc.

Pronouns Changing Rules

Personal Pronouns of the Direct Narration are changed as follows to go into Indirect Narration:

• The Personal Pronouns of the 1^st Person (Reported Speech) are always changed their form according to the subject of the Reporting Speech of the Direct Narration.
• The Personal Pronouns of the 2^nd person (Reported Speech) are always changed according to the Reporting Speech object.
• There is no change in the form of Personal Pronouns of the 3^rd Person used in the Reported Speech of the Direct Narration.

Hint to Change personal Pronouns in Direct & Indirect Speech

The Pronouns Changing Rules can be summarized as “SON”. Because 1^st and 2^nd Personal Pronouns are changed according to the subject (S) and object (O) of the Reporting Speech of the Direct Narration, respectively. And 3^rd Personal Pronoun of the Direct Speech is non-changeable (N).

Example of the Change in the form of Personal Pronouns according to the Subject of the Reporting Speech with Explanation

1. She said to me,’’ I received this telegram from your father yesterday.”
   • She said to me that she had received that telegram from my father the previous day.

Explanation of the Example

In this sentence, two Personal Pronouns (She, me) are used in the Reporting Speech. And Reported Speech also has two Personal Pronouns (I, Your). Since the pronouns of the Reported Speech are changed according to the pronouns of the Reporting Speech, therefore, Personal Pronoun of the 1st Person “I” is changed according to the subject “She” of the Reporting Speech and the Personal Pronoun of the 2nd Person “Your” is changed according to the object “me” of the Reporting Speech.

                      This is done by following the “SON” formula, which says that the Personal Pronoun of the 1^st Person is changed according to the subject of the Reporting Speech and the Personal Pronouns of the 2nd Person are changed according to the object of the Reporting Speech. And in this example, we have “she” as a subject and “me” as an object.

Examples of the Change in the form of Personal Pronouns according to the Subject of the Reporting Speech

1. He says,” I am ill.”
   • He says that he is ill.
2. She says,” My book is new.”
   • She says that her book is new.
3. You say,” My brother is very kind to me.”
   • You say that your brother is very kind to you.
4. They will say,” We do not work hard.”
   • They will say that they do not work hard.
5. I will say,” I have spoken the truth.”
   • I will say that I have spoken the truth.
6. She says to us,” I am your neighbor.”
   • She says to us that she is our neighbor.
7. He says to us,” I respect you.”
   • He says to us that he respects us.
8. She says,” I read the book.”
   • She says that she reads the book.
9. They say,” We love Pakistan.”
   • They say that they love Pakistan.
10. He will say,” I do not mix with bad boys.”
    • He will say that he does not mix with boys.
11. You say,” I respect my teacher.”
    • You say that you respect your teacher.
12. Faisal says,” I shall go to Karachi by the Khyber Mail.”
    • Faisal says that he will go to Karachi by the Khyber Mail.
13. You say,” I speak the truth.”
    • You say that you speak the truth.
14. He will say,” I have sent him a telegram.”
    • He will say that he has sent him a telegram.
15. They will say,” We are going to London.”
    • They will say that they are going to London.
16. She says,” I have visited Japan twice.”
    • She says that she has visited Japan twice.
17. He says,” My father is a landlord.”
    • He says that his father is a landlord.
18. Your friends say,” We shall obey him.”
    • Your friends say that they will obey him.
19. They say,” We have done our duty.”
    • They say that they have done their duty.
20. You say,” I respect my elders.”
    • You say that you respect your elders.
21. She says,” I am sitting beside them.”
    • She says that she is sitting beside them.

Examples of the Change in the form of Personal Pronouns according to the Object of the Reporting Speech with an Explanation

1. They say to me,” You cannot help him.”
   • They say to me that I cannot help him.

In this sentence, two Personal Pronouns (They, me) are used in the Reporting Speech. And Reported Speech also has two Personal Pronouns (You, him). Since the pronouns of the Reported Speech are changed according to the pronouns of the Reporting Speech, therefore, Personal Pronoun of the 2nd Person “You” is changed according to the object of the Reporting Speech “me” and the Personal Pronoun of the 3rd Person “him” is non-changeable.

              This is done by following the “SON” formula, which says that Personal Pronouns of the 2^nd Person are changed according to the object of the Reporting Speech and Personal Pronouns of the 3rd Person are non-changeable. And in this example, we have “They” as the subject and “me” as the object in the Reporting Speech.

Examples of the Change in the form of Personal Pronouns according to the Object of the Reporting Speech

1. You will say to him,” Your brother beats them.”
   • You will say to him that his brother beats them.
2. We say to her,” Your uncle will not hate them.”
   • We say to her that her uncle will not hate them.
3. I shall say to him,” You have broken the jug of this tea set.”
   • I shall say to him that he has broken the jug of that tea set.
4. He says to me,” I live near your house.”
   • He says to me that he lives near my house.
5. They will say to him,” We do not know you.”
   • They will say to him that they do not know him.
6. You say to him,” I was your class fellow.”
   • You say to him that you were his class fellow.
7. She says to me,” My son gives you two apples every day.”
   • She says to me that her son gives me two apples every day.
8. He will say to you,” I have come to you for help.”
   • He will say to you that he has come to you for help.

Direct Narration with Personal Pronouns of the 3^rd Person

When Direct Narration has Personal Pronouns of the 3^rd Person (he, she, it, they), then there is no change in the form of Personal Pronouns of the 3rd Person to convert the sentence into Indirect Narration.

Examples of Direct Narration with Personal Pronouns of the 3^rd Person

1. They say to me,” He cannot help her.”
   • They say to me that he cannot help her.
2. You will say to him,” Her brother beats the stranger.”
   • You will say to him that her brother beats the stranger.
3. We say to you,” His uncle will not hate us.”
   • We say to you that his uncle will not hate us.
4. I shall say to you,” He has broken the jug of this tea set.”
   • I shall say to you that he has broken the jug of that tea set.
5. He says to you,” He lives near your house.”
   • He says to you that he lives near your house.
6. They will say to us,” He does not know us.”
   • They will say to us that he does not know them.
7. You say to me,” He was your class fellow.”
   • You say to me that he was my class fellow.
8. She says to me,” His son gives you two apples every day.”
   • She says to me that his son gives me two apples every day.
9. He will say to you,” He has come to you for help.”
   • He will say to you that he has come to you for help.
10. She said to me,’’ He received this telegram from her father yesterday.”
    • She said to me that he had received that telegram from her father the previous day.